Swansea RFC are delighted to announce the appointment of former All Whites, Ospreys and Wales forward Jonathan Thomas as Head Coach.
“JT” will lead Swansea into Super Rygbi Cymru action in the forthcoming season, with the opening game of the campaign scheduled for Saturday 13th September, away to Pontypool.
Having first signed for Swansea as a 16-year old the appointment marks something of a homecoming for Thomas, more than 23 years after he first pulled on the white shirt, his debut coming off the bench in a 22-14 win over Ebbw Vale at St Helen’s.
” Swansea RFC has always been close to my heart.” Thomas said.
“It was the club that gave me the opportunity and I’ll always be grateful. It’s a big part of who I am and my time with the club at the start of my career really helped shape me as a person and a player. I’m really excited about taking up this role and helping this historic club move forward.”
Keith Colclough, Managing Director, Swansea RFC, welcomed JT back to the club saying:
“It gives me enormous pleasure to announce Jonathan as our new Head Coach” he said.
“This is a huge coup for Swansea RFC. JT is an ambitious, highly rated young coach who after a fantastic playing career already has significant coaching experience at the highest level of the game. As a club, we share his ambition and are excited about the 2025/26 Super Rygbi Cymru season and seeing how Jonathan can develop the team.
“Speaking to him, his passion and knowledge is obvious. As a proud former All White, he knows the club well, the expectations that come with the role, and he can’t wait to get stuck in to the challenges that lie ahead.”
Thomas played 28 times for Swansea between December 2001 and May 2003, becoming the youngest ever club captain, at that time, when he led the team as a 19-year old against Ebbw Vale on St David’s Day 2003.
He was an Ospreys ‘original’ the following season, going on to play 188 times (14 tries) across the next 10 years, winning four league titles and an Anglo Welsh Cup, before moving onto Worcester Warriors where he ended his playing career in 2015 after 44 appearances. Having burst onto the international scene at the 2003 Rugby World Cup, he was a key figure in a golden era for Wales, winning 67 caps (7 tries) between 2003-2011, winning two Grand Slams along the way.
Since finishing playing Thomas has put together an impressive coaching CV, working in the English Premiership and the international game. He was at Bristol Bears between 2016-20 as Defence and Forwards Coach, before returning to Worcester Warriors in 2020, initially as Forwards Coach before being appointed Head Coach at Sixways the following year.
Thomas was appointed to Warren Gatland’s Wales coaching team with responsibility for the contact area ahead of the 2023 Six Nations, stepping down after Wales’s quarter-final exit at that year’s Rugby World Cup to take up a post overseeing the rugby programme at The King’s School, Gloucester. Thomas says that stepping back into a ‘hands on’ head coach role at St Helen’s will allow him to utilise the wide-ranging experience he’s built up over the last decade.
“Since I first signed for Swansea as a youngster 25 years ago, it’s been a relentless journey, always looking forward, and it’s only when I’ve taken the last six months out to recharge have I really been able to appreciate the journey I’ve been on..
“I’ve been fortunate to be a part of some top rugby environments and work with great people who I’ve learned from. It’s not just what I’ve done in professional rugby, working in the school, being involved in junior rugby with my boy, I’ve been able to learn and develop, and become a far more rounded person and coach. Swansea will benefit from this.
“It promises to be an exciting season. I looked at the team towards the end of last season and they certainly didn’t look like a team that should have been at the foot of the table. I need to get know the players I’m working with and find out more about their character and desire to improve Yes, there’s plenty of work to do, starting straight away, but the foundations of a good side is there and it’ll be my responsibility to build on that. It’s exciting for the club and it’s exciting for me.
“Swansea is a big club with a proud history and I want to do that justice, while understanding our relationship with the Ospreys, where I know Mark Jones really well and expect to work closely with him”
Full details of the new look coaching team will follow in the next few days, along with news of new signings for the 2025/26 season.